Verde Capital Management Invests $1.20 Million in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Verde Capital Management purchased a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,999 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,198,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,263,763,000 after buying an additional 315,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 1.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,518,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,669,204,000 after acquiring an additional 170,618 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Progressive by 7.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,286,036,000 after purchasing an additional 330,667 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,022,507,000 after purchasing an additional 92,212 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $239.58 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $248.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.14. The stock has a market cap of $140.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $175.50 and a 52-week high of $270.62.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays cut their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.65.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,506 shares of company stock valued at $10,531,159 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.